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The odds of a renewed global recession have grown this year, but that doesn't mean investors should throw up their hands and abandon commodities.

In last week's Commodities Corner, my colleague Simon Constable highlighted how a contracting world economy quickly erodes the value of raw materials and the companies that make them. He argued that commodities can be more vulnerable in a downturn than other sectors.

Indeed, global economic fears already have taken a toll on the share prices of many resource companies, particularly those in metals and mining. The Dow Jones U.S. Mining Index of companies is down 26% this year, compared with a 6.1% rise in the Standard & Poor's 500. Share prices of metals and mining companies, BMO Capital Markets analysts say in a note, "continue to discount a view that is worse than reality."

But slumps can create opportunities, as well as pain, and investors aren't savvy if they aren't selective. Here are some guidelines for building stakes in metals and mining stocks during unsettled times:

1. Choose companies that are making money now, rather than ones dependent on expansion plans. With financial markets rattled by Europe's banking crisis and lenders uneasy, growth projects will probably see delays.

2. Focus on companies that sell things that China and India must import. Despite their problems, the countries still are expected to provide the bulk of global growth in demand. Generally, companies selling to Asian markets will be better off than those depending on sales to Europe and North America.

Even in an economic slowdown, China's appetite for coal and iron ore is likely to remain hearty. And both U.S.-based miners have expanded their access to Asia in recent years by buying export-focused outfits in Australia. The two companies also are fueling growth from within, using their cash stockpiles, rather than debt, to ramp up output at their own mines.

Cliffs is "already pricing in a hard landing," says Dahlman Rose analyst Anthony Young. "We believe that investors can take shelter" in the Cleveland-based company, he says. Investors tend to favor Peabody for the low costs at its Australian operations, says Lucas Pipes, an analyst with Brean Murray Carret. "It's tough to make an argument that, in the long run, Australia is going to underperform the U.S." in the coal sector, he adds.

Cliff's stock closed Friday at $46.60, down 2.9% on the week and 25% on the year. Peabody's shares ended at $22.51, off 9.5% on the week and 32% on the year.